They Brought The End
by Mistress Ashley
Summary: Title may change later. They thought the end of the world would be brought by demons, not themselves. Now Dawn must travel back to the beginning to stop the end from coming. Pairings Undecided. Rating for the future.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the idea and the time put into writing it. Buffy and all characters therein belong to Joss Whedon and company.

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**Prologue**

They'd won. They'd thought they were done. That they could sit back and relax; train the mini-slayers - be consultants, only called in for the big apocalypses.

It was fine the first few years. They scattered, found slayers, trained them, and sent them back out.

But they forgot one thing ... they never thought to set limits on the activation spell, except the one to stop the activation of babies, children too young to understand. The Potentials, Slayers all now, from puberty to menopause. The spell didn't care if they were the Queen of High School, the President's daughter, insane, or killers likely to kill again. They didn't think and they were paying for it. The world was paying for it.

Slayer's started crawling out of the woodwork faster than they could pick them up ... not knowing to hide themselves ... some just not caring to. And with them, they brought the darkness - the demons and the vampires.

And the world knew.

And it feared.

Before long, you were just as likely to see a vampire feeding in the middle of the street as you were to see a slayer dust them and be shot down for it.

The world had turned against itself. After everything they'd done, every time they'd saved the world and it was them who'd ended it.

She was Dawn Summers and this was her story. The story of how she was going to save the world ... by stopping the end it before it begins. She was going to change history.


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing except the idea and time put into writing this. Buffy and all characters therein belong to Joss Whedon and company.

**AN:** I don't know where I want the story to go from here so any suggestions are welcome. Let me know when you want Dawn to have come out ... keep in mind that it has to have at least a passing connection to Willow. I'm thinking sometime before Angelus, I have an idea that I'd like to try out there, but I'll take all suggestions into consideration.

I'd also like to know of any crossovers, if any, you'd like to see brought in ... someone(s) that are important to the future?

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**Chapter One**

Spike pulled her from the preparations Willow and the Last Witches were making.

She knew what he was going to say, he'd been trying to get her alone for the last few days. She knew and even though she didn't want to hear it she let him lead her away to as a secluded a spot as could be found in the tiny, abandoned warehouse.

Spike had been all she'd had, besides Willow and Willow was never the same after the '_incident'_, for the last few years. When the war really started to heat up the government had pulled a First and bombed the new Council Headquarters. Willow was the only one to make it out alive. She'd protected herself somehow; she always refused to say how. Dawn thought Willow's guilt was what truly motivated her all these years to find a way to end this war. And with the creation of the spell they were using today, hopefully, she'd done it.

Once Spike and she were a sufficient distance away, he rounded on her.

"This is going to be hard, Bit. We don't know where exactly you'll end up. Time isn't as straight as Willow had hoped it would be. She can use herself as a point of reference … a time in her life that's very vivid. It could spit you out any time from Red learning about the nightlife or even as far along as Tara. You'll need to be careful."

"I know Spike," Dawn sighed in exasperation. This was the same things Willow had explained … multiple times. "I also know I'll need to be wary of what I change and even that just my presence in the timeline could disrupt it. Willow broke down and told me that the Key may have leaked over and given me some of its 'oneness'. The energy of the Key in the past may just dissipate, meaning the past me could never be 'born'. It could make the timeline worse or it could make it better." It was sad to think about, but the destruction of the past Key wouldn't affect her. Willow had made sure of that.

Uh-oh. Spike was looking more serious than she'd seen him in a long time.

"I don't just mean about that, Bit. I mean me."

She opened her mouth to retort but he cut her off.

"No, I mean it. You don't know when you'll appear. It could be before the chip and certainly before the soul. You were a kid then, unless it was for Dru I didn't much go for kids, but you're not now. He'd see you no different than anything other. A Happy Meal on legs."

She looked away, her eyes finding the ground but he grabbed her chin and forced her face up.

"If you get into a situation you have no way out of but to stake him, you stake him! You don't worry about me. If it's my life, such as it was, over yours you always choose you. You understand me?"

"Spike …" She could feel her throat closing up, her eyes starting to sting. She couldn't imagine a future without him in it - he was her protector, her big brother. He'd looked after her when Buffy died saving her from Glory and when the war started. He made sure she ate and looked after herself when Buffy, Giles, and Xander were killed. She knew she'd try everything she could to protect him in the past but she was a realist. "Okay. I understand."

"Good, Bit." He pulled her into a hug which she returned with equal fervor.

"Dawn! I don't know how long I'll be able to hold it; you have to go now."

At Willow's voice, which seemed to have taken on an odd, echo-y quality, sounded to her left, she turned to see a portal had opened. It didn't look like much, she thought with a dubious look. It looked like the heat haze you'd see rising from the road on a hot day but it had an odd shiny, shimmering effect that definitely wasn't normal.

She hurried over to the witch's circle, Spike close behind her.

It was time. She could already see some of the more benevolent demons they'd picked up along the way gently tossing her luggage and weapons trunk through.

This was it, Dawn felt like as if something very large had settled around her shoulders.

"Are you sure you don't want to come with me," she asked as she turned to Spike.

"Nah, Bit. I wanna see how this ends and someone's gotta keep an eye on Red. Something happens to her before you make it through completely there's no telling' what would happen to you."

She knew this as well but it had been worth one more try. She'd already said her goodbyes to the other and the last of her things had finally been tossed through. With one last look around she headed toward the portal.

"Bit!"

She turned at his call and only just got her hands up in time to stop herself from getting hit in the face with whatever he had tossed.

Dawn gasped as she looked down and saw that she held Spike's duster in her hands. A glance up at him showed a sad half smile on his face. She swept it around her shoulders and shoved her arms through the sleeves before she ran to Spike, throwing her arms around him.

She breathed in leather, old cigarette smoke, and something that was completely Spike. "Love you, Spike," she whispered in his ear before she pulled back. His forehead rested on hers as he looked her in the eye.

"Love you too, Bit. Now go on." As he nodded his head to the portal the door burst open and military dressed figures poured into the room. Dawn felt her eyes widen and her breath catch, noticing Spike's eyes flick behind him and widen as well. "Go," he roared, the bones of his face twisting allowing the demon to come forward, as he shoved her hard toward the portal before making his way to stand in front of Willow.

Dawn moved quickly, the sounds of fighting loud around her. She dived at the portal, twisting her body so she had one last look of the room, wishing she hadn't when she was what she did. And also what she didn't.

She couldn't see Spike but her last sight before she landed hard; her head knocking against hard ground was a bullet hitting Willow.

Dawn's vision blacked out and she tried to push it back, seeing the portal collapse in on itself.

"Willow …"

The blackness took her again.


End file.
